Category: At-home workout

Wednesday Workout: 2 Circuit at Home Workout

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Hey there! Before I get into my workout for today, I want to take a moment to remember all of those who lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorist attack in NYC, think of those who lost someone and thank those who helped save people. I can still remember exactly where I was when news hit and I’m sure that’s the way it is for most of you reading this post today.

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It’s Wednesday- woohoo! It’s also my friend, Tim’s, birthday today so I want to wish him a very happy birthday!!! I’d say this workout is for him, but he hates all my workouts (except my ab ones) 😉

Anyway! I mentioned on Monday that I did an at-home workout on Labor Day when I was home in Maine. It literally left me sore for a few days and I am still trying to figure out why. It could possibly be because I focused on each move and worked diligently throughout the motions since I was only lifting 5lb weights. When I lift heavier weights in class and on my own, I don’t think I work through the movements as well and effectively as I should; definitely something to be mindful about going forward.

With that said, here’s the workout:

2 circuit at home workout

I warmed up with 5 minutes of dynamic stretches and cardio before starting my 3 rounds of circuit 1. You don’t want to rush through the moves, but you want to go at a good pace where you’re keeping your heart rate up while still getting the full range of motion in each move. After 3 rounds of circuit 1, perform the cardio blast then move on to 3 rounds of circuit 2.

Couple of notes on the moves:

  • Below parallel squats- you can use weights here if you want (I did), but you don’t have to. The point of the squat is to expand your range of motion and squat deeper and lower than you normally would. In other words: drop your butt and get it as close to the ground as possible!
  • Incline Push-Ups- I did these against the coffee table 🙂
  • Monkey Curls- I did these a while ago in one of my UXF Burn classes. You can see pictures of the move in this post (bottom right picture). The key with these is to stay in that super low “monkey” sit/squat, but to make sure you aren’t resting your hamstrings against your calves- that’s way too easy 😉
  • Spiderman plank- There are multiple ways to do this, but all I want you to do is stay in a high plank and try to touch the same knee to the same elbow (right to right, left to left). Really focus on squeezing your obliques to get the knees as close to your elbows as possible!
  • Front Lat Raise into Wide Row w/ Calf Raises- phew, right?! Let me break it down for you: hold light weights in either hand down by your legs. Lift up onto the balls of your feet while your lift your arms up to shoulder height out in front of you. From there, and while still balancing on the balls of your feet, squeeze your shoulder blades and pull your elbows back (like a bent over wide row, but in standing position). Straighten arms back out in front of you and lower them and your heels until you get back to the starting position. This is my new favorite move- I felt it in my back and lats fa’ dayyyssss.

Did I miss anything? Let me know if you try this- I like to know what you like these posts and that they are valuable to you- are they?!?!

Questions for you: What’s the last workout you did that left you super sore? Move that you’re currently loving?

Weekly Workouts: Taking some time to rest

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Hi there! How was your weekend? Mine was really great, but I’ll catch you all up on that tomorrow. I like to use Monday’s as my “weekly workout” post day with the hope that it helps to get you motivated to stay on track and get workouts planned throughout the week. It’s harder to skip a workout when you’ve written it down and held yourself accountable, right?

As I mentioned on Friday, I decided to give myself a little break from any sort of intense physical activity over the weekend. My old injuries started to flare up and I was just feeling continuously exhausted, which told me it was time for a little T.O. from the gym and working out. Surprisingly enough, it was easier than I had imagined! And get this- I even enjoyed it 🙂 Friday is generally my rest day and Saturday and Sunday I kept busy with other things so I didn’t get antsy and feel like I needed to do something! I am going to take this week light, too, which is totally fine.

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I was home in Maine and completed a workout in my parents living room. It was 2 short, 4 move circuits that I repeated 3 times before doing cardio and moving to the next circuit. I think I’ll post it for you this week because it left me sore!

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  • Tuesday- I got up and ran 3.5 miles before work. It was a beautiful morning for a run, but the last 3 blocks to my apartment were brutal as they are up a BIG hill.

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  • Wednesday- I ran 2 miles before teaching UXF Burn. It was a great class- lots of people and lots of energy!
  • Thursday- I taught another similar format to what I have been teaching as everyone has been loving it. It was 2 strength moves (15 reps each), 60 seconds of abs, 2 minutes of cardio. I repeated a workout in kickboxing from months ago, but I don’t think anyone noticed 😉
  • Friday- rest! I walked .5 miles to Shaw’s and back, but that’s it.
  • Saturday- nothing!
  • Sunday- I went to bed on Saturday night at 9:30 and didn’t get out of bed on Sunday until 8:15! After Friday night’s festivities, I cannot tell you how much that was needed; I woke up feeling like a million bucks on Sunday! Since the weather was amazing, I laced up my sneaks and went for a nice morning stroll, making random stops to do a little stretching and light core work. Felt great!

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I think there is a Pilates class on Monday nights at the East Boston YMCA, so I may try to go to that.
  • Tuesday- Pending on how I’m feeling, I may run or just do some light cardio at the gym… or rest.
  • Wednesday- Teaching UXF Burn. If I do anything before class, it will just be a walk or something else low impact.
  • Thursday- Teaching SHRED and kickboxing. I think I may teach a tabata themed class in SHRED, thanks to a reminder from Athena!
  • Friday- Not sure! If I’m feeling rested, I may workout before or after work, but I’m going to play it by ear.
  • Saturday- Teaching kickboxing at the Oak Square YMCA! yay!
  • Sunday- Not sure- I’d love to get to a BodyPump class 🙂

Questions for you: Do you like to take your rest days during the week or weekend? What’s your favorite Tabata combination?

Wednesday Workout: Run/Walk & Park Boot Camp Circuit

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As I mentioned in my Weekly Workouts post on Monday, last week I did a really fun workout which only included myself & a park bench! I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to share it with you. I also thought it would be nice to show you a workout that doesn’t include any gym equipment so that you can hopefully take this on the road with you!

I went into the workout only knowing that I wanted to run 10 minutes and then perform various exercises. As I started my first strength set, this is what I came up with:

park workout

This was a great, full body workout that left me really tired and really sweaty! And, what’s great is that you can modify this workout and walk the 10 minute cardio intervals instead of running them, so there’s really no excuse 😉

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From left to right, top to bottom: bench step ups, flutter kicks, plank, shameless selfie.

If you have any questions regarding any of the moves, let me know! I was able to cover about 3.7 miles in the 30 minutes of running, which I felt good about! Let me know if you try this 🙂

Questions for you: Have you ever done a workout in a park before? Do you like to run for timed intervals or distance?

Weekly Workouts: New gym & an outside workout

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Happy Labor Day, friends! I hope you’re all lucky enough to have today off. I have been looking forward to this for a while, as I was in major need of a day off from everything! The past couple of weeks, between moving, working, subbing, blogging, and trying to get a new apartment put together have been incredibly tiring. Spending this past weekend at home in Maine was just what I needed. On Saturday night, I was in bed and asleep before 10pm and didn’t get up until after 8am. It was lovely!

Anyway, let’s get to the workouts! Last week, I switched up my normal workout routine and had the chance to check out the East Boston YMCA. While it is not nearly as nice as the Oak Square YMCA, the fact that it’s less than a 10 minute walk from my apartment and I can use my existing YMCA membership to go there makes it pretty great in my eyes! I definitely see myself using it a lot throughout the winter!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I had plans to get up and jog before work since I wanted to go to Ikea after work, but when my alarm went off, I was EXHAUSTED and really didn’t want to force a workout when I was that tired, especially since I could workout after work. Here’s the kicker, though, I did get up, got changed and then I noticed it started to sprinkle. So, instead of doing something inside, I actually changed BACK into my jammies and got back in bed for 45 minutes. It was awesome! And, I was finally able to order my couch and chair covers online through Ikea so I had so much time after work to workout. I was gchatting with Athena and she suggested I do a boot camp in the park near my apartment. Perfect! I ended up running 10 minutes, doing a series of strength and ab moves and repeating that sequence 2 more times. I covered almost 3.7 miles in the 30 minutes of running. I think I’ll post the workout for you later this week??

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  • Tuesday- I went to the East Boston YMCA after work and completed my Pyramid Workout, with the exception that I didn’t do the cardio. I wanted to focus on strength and since I now walk almost 3 miles every day in my new commute, I felt like I should take a day where I didn’t do cardio and just did strength. It was still a great workout and I left sweaty!

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  • Wednesday- I ran 3 miles before teaching UXF burn. I don’t know where I got the speed on Wednesday, but I ran my last mile in 7:58, and that included the need to slow down when I came upon lots of people on the side walk. I was shocked with this time!

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  • Thursday- I taught another superset workout in SHRED (my members are loving this format). I included lots of new moves that I learned when I finally went through all of the magazine cutouts I’ve taken from fitness magazines over the years. It was a great class! Kickboxing was fun, too… decent size group again!
  • Friday- Nothing 🙂 I love my Friday rest days. I did do a lot of walking when I took PT into the city to meet up with Athena for her birthday, but that was it!
  • Saturday- Taught Kickboxing at the Oak Square YMCA. It was the smallest group to date (16 people) and it took a LOT out of me to keep the energy up, especially when I felt like I had had a liiiitle too much to drink the night before 😉

saturday kickboxing

  • Sunday- a fast (for me!) 3 mile run around Shapleigh, followed by picking potatoes, which is great for your back 😉

maine garmin runpotato picking

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I’m not sure what I’ll do today. I’m still home in Maine so I might do a boot camp or run or maybe a deck of cards? Suggestions??
  • Tuesday- I will get up and do something before work since I am meeting my friend, Liz, for drinks after work. The fact that I know I CAN’T workout after work means that I will absolutely get up to workout. It’s just hard to force myself to workout in the morning when I’m tired if I know I can do it after work. Plus, my workouts after work are so much stronger than in the morning, so I would prefer to do them then if possible.
  • Wednesday- Likely another run before teaching UXF Burn. I’m trying to soak up all of the outdoor runs along the Charles that I can while the weather is still nice!
  • Thursday- SHRED followed by Kickboxing. Any format suggestions for SHRED?
  • Friday- Probably a rest day. Danielle, Amy and Rachel are coming over for cocktail hour before we go out to dinner. I’m excited to have them over the new place!
  • Saturday- I don’t have to teach, so I’ll probably go to BodyPump in Wellington with some cardio before or after.
  • Sunday- Not sure! Maybe a run through the park, maybe a workout at the East Boston YMCA, maybe yoga?? maybe nothing!

Questions for you: Have you ever gotten up, gotten dressed, then got back in bed to sleep instead of workout? When you have plans after work, do you make sure to get up and workout before work? Do you choose a gym over location/convenience or the quality of the gym?

Wednesday Workout: Pyramid Workout

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Hey there!! As I’ve mentioned, my posts will be light this week as I am still in the midst of settling into my new apartment, but I was able to put this workout post together for you since I know you all love Wednesday Workout posts, right?! 😉 I taught this last week and even though I forgot to go back DOWN the leg pyramid, it was still an awesome workout.

We worked our way up the pyramid, meaning we started with 10 reps then went to 20, then 30 and finally 40 reps. Before moving back down the pyramid, I had us hold a 60 second plank. In addition, I had us do 3 minute cardio blasts before each pyramid- a great way to get the heart rate up!

Pyramid workout

Now, I realize that it looks like you’re going DOWN the pyramid first, but when I wrote it out with the 40 rep exercise at the top, it looked weird; my eyes looked immediately to the top exercise in a diagram, meaning it made me think I was starting with the 40 rep exercise, so I switched it. ANYWAY… clearly big issues 😉 I hope you get the idea of what I mean by this pyramid workout: 10, 20, 30, 40- 60 second plank- 40, 30, 20, 10. Makes sense, right?!

Once I get myself some weights for my new apartment, I look forward to doing this workout in my living room when I don’t want to go to the gym.

Speaking of gyms… Look what I came across during my evening jog:

YMCA

Love it!! The class schedule looks ok, but more than that I love that I’ve found a gym a 1/2 mile from my apartment. There’s also an awesome park with lots of great running trails- makes me so happy!

Let me know if you try this workout 🙂

Questions for you: Have you ever done a pyramid workout? What’s the gym closest to your apartment? Do you choose your gym by the location or the classes/equipment offered?